


Made of Star Stuff

by sheithfromvoltron (theeShadyLady), TakashiPantherShiro



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Choking, M/M, Protective Keith (Voltron), SHEITH - Freeform, Sharing a Bed, Tumblr Roleplay, implied choking kink, split persona au, with TakashiPantherShiro
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-27 09:15:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13245150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theeShadyLady/pseuds/sheithfromvoltron, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TakashiPantherShiro/pseuds/TakashiPantherShiro
Summary: “I think that we are like stars. Something happens to burst us open; but when we burst open and think we are dying; we’re actually turning into a supernova.”Shiro's finally back, but he's not the same. That little voice in his head? Well, it's more than a voice now and it wants nothing to do with the galra and will do whatever it takes to keep them away from Shiro.((Co-Written withTakashiPantherShiroas Shiro and Kuro))





	1. Chapter 1

**sheithfromvoltron:**

_“I think that we are like stars. Something happens to burst us open; but when we burst open and think we are dying; we’re actually turning into a supernova.”_

* * *

They’d found Shiro five days ago and though he seemed fine. But a lot of things seemed fine when they weren’t. Shiro’d always put on a brave face for the team, but Keith had taught himself to find the edges of the older male’s mask. Something was wrong or off or just… different.

A couple more rounds of pacing down the hall outside his friend’s room, Keith gave in. “Shiro?” he spoke quietly, placing a hand on the door. “Shiro, can I talk to you? Please.” He nearly scoffed at himself when he tacked on the last word. Ever since they’d met Shiro had treated him like an equal, but now here Keith was begging like a dog left out in the rain simply because his mind was telling him something  _might_  be wrong.

 

**takashipanthershiro:**

_What do you do when you are trapped in your own body?_

The black paladin beetling his dark eyebrows, studying the room that was his.  Felt nothing like home, nothing he could feel safety within.  Looking downwards and running his hands over the sides of his head.

Shiro gazed upwards at the sealed door, flicking his mused bangs to the side,  that were slightly longer.  He got upwards, reluctant to open the door.  An emotionless stare down at Keith standing there, memories a jumble.

“Keith?”  A bit dry.  He hadn’t come back right, and he didn’t know what tore him up inside, festered there.  “It’s… not the time for this.  Maybe I am just tired?”.

 

**sheithfromvoltron:**

He looked like shit, actually he looked alright, it was just his eyes that gave him away. Distant. Hazy. Cold. The sight made Keith’s chest tighten.

“Too bad,” he shrugged, pushing past Shiro to get into the room. Sitting down on the edge of Shiro’s bed, he glared at the other paladin. “Something’s wrong. Why won’t you tell me?”

 

**takashipanthershiro:**

Shiro thought the mustered harden face would deter Keith, but …..

A feeling of fabric against fabric from the forced entry, made Shiro slightly tremble.  It ran up his spine.  He then rolled his head in a dramatic way when he turned, trying to get a grip on his faint pang of something tangible from close feeling.  “Keith?  Come on buddy, … just a long, frustrating wait.  I’ll get over it!”

Trying to make it seem like his disappearance was all to blame, and nothing at all lurking about in the shadows of his thoughts.

Shiro’s pad sat next to Keith and he went directly over snatching it up. flipping it downwards on the nightstand.  Seemed to be a fair stand he didn’t want those secrets getting found out.

_There was two of him._

 

**sheithfromvoltron:**

“You’re being weird, Shiro, and sooner or later I  _am_  going to find out what’s wrong.”

Resisting the urge to grab Shiro’s hand and tear the booklet from his fingers, Keith crossed his arms, letting a frown fall across his lips. “I thought you trusted me!” he spat, looking past Shiro, attempting to freeze him out despite being the one here that wanted something. 

His attempt didn’t last long. “But if you don’t anymore, that’s  _fine_. Just admit it and ask me to leave. I won’t fight you.”

 

**takashipanthershiro:**

“I am being weird??  You are the one that just came in, when I wanted to collect my personal thoughts.”  Meaning the pad.  “Fine. read it…”  Shoving the pad at Keith.

The page it was on started off….

_… I feel strangled in my own form, like something clawing on my insides trying to get out.  It’s been a long time since I felt like this.  Since, my days as gladiator, no… as the Champion…._

The cursor made a few different characters to denote someone confused

q3rf ce43w 

_Where the fuck am I?   This isn’t the Galra prison ship…  What did I even write, that isn’t Galra??  I AM CHAMPION I AM NOT FUCKING SHIRO …I AM ME I AM ME I AM ME!!!111!!!_

_Who am I?_

Shiro locked the door.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**sheithfromvoltron:**

Keith blinked, looking up at Shiro as the device was pushed into his hands. As much as it wounded him how closed he was acting, it also registered that Shiro wasn’t trying to chase him off now.

He read over the entries three times each and on the fourth one he looked up. “Shiro, is there someone…” Keith wasn’t sure how to ask. Dropping the pad back onto the bed, he stood up, erasing the distance between Shiro and himself. He reached to touch Shiro’s cheek, but stopped himself and let his hand fall limply back to his side. “Takashi, what did they do to you?”

 

**takashipanthershiro:**

Shiro rested against the locked door, finally letting Keith in, his hands curling against the door.  For the first time in his life, he was afraid. “It started a few nights after we came back, …I blanked out and found things out of place, or at least, not where I put them.  Only, I thought that I might have been tired, or simply forgetting.  But, I found that in my hands last night.”  

_I feel like an idiot that I can’t trust myself, Keith._

Someone of Shiro’s stature could not possibly just come out and say it

Pure panic and pain flared as he never felt within.  Admitting this to the his partner felt difficult. 

“I don’t want to think of what happen, but I can’t… heal without telling …”  

_Can someone possibly shatter into two separate people?_

He couldn’t say that line, who was the other person inside of him?  Shiro full of uneasiness,  “I-I need to figure this out, I need you to still be in charge.”   

I don’t trust  _him_.  Keith would have to read between the lines of all the things his Takashi hadn’t spoken out loud.  His eyes were even watery.

 

**sheithfromvoltron:**

“Okay,” Keith nodded, running his tongue over dry lips. “Okay… you want me to keep piloting Black, I can do that. You want me to keep calling the shots, I can do that. I can lead Voltron, if that’s what you need.” 

Keith met Shiro’s stance, tilting himself against the door to look up at the man. “But you want me to let you go through this on your own? Not a chance. You’re my best friend, Shiro, and you can try to chase me away or give me that awful, disappointed look all you want, but I will never agree to that.”

He took a step closer, his shoulder sliding against the door until he was leaning just a few inches from Shiro. He assumed everything he was currently thinking had already occurred to the other man. Cryopods clearly didn’t help, since he’d been in one most of the first day he’d been back and this was still happening. They probably needed to tell Allura and Coran at least, but clearly Shiro wasn’t ready to share, so he wouldn’t push that. Yet.

“I know you don’t want to talk about it, but we can start small. Just We’ll get through this like we always do, alright? Me and you.” It’d always been them since their days at the Garrison, but back then it had been Shiro doing most of the protecting and leading.

The back of his mind whispered to Keith, reminding him that they had a team now. But besides the fact that Keith doubted Shiro would be even this forthcoming with the others was the truth that at his core Keith was possessive over Shiro. And he didn’t want the others slowing him down or questioning the non existing limit that he would go to to be sure that Shiro ended up alright.

 

**takashipanthershiro:**

Shiro gazed into Keith’s face, letting his partner pace him through this.  He breathed outwards, letting the other come close as he could stand.  The thought of going rogue inside Black wasn’t something he wanted to happen.  He had taken time to bond properly with him after all.

“It’s not like that Keith.  I just, I don’t want to hurt black and all of you.  What if that other side of me steals the black lion.  I am sure the lion could feel the shift but….  I don’t want to take that chance.”

Knowing Keith was there for him, made him open to work on talking about different nightmares and fever dreams he kept having.  The fatigue of the other taking a toll upon him too.  What did the other self do when he was supposed to be asleep?

“I am gonna ask you something you don’t want to hear.  Can you confront him?  Stay here in the other bunk, or in the same bed, so I get sleep?”

Those dark grey eyes looking at Keith with more trust than he been feeling all week.  At least now, Keith knew.  Where would the safety be in no one else knowing?  There was too much proof in the pad right now.  The black paladin still held feelings for Keith anyways, so he would only be the one for him to open up to.

“I trust you.  I swear.”

 

**sheithfromvoltron:**

Keith nodded faintly, “You’re right.”  _wasn’t he always?_  “I want you in Red then. She’ll take care of you and is far too stubborn to let  _him_  take over.” 

His jaw shifted tightly as Shiro’s request. Well, less at the request and more at the reason behind it. “I didn’t know you weren’t sleeping, you should hav—” Sighing, Keith let it go. This wasn’t the time for ‘should haves’. 

“Yeah, I can do that, too.” Instead of waiting for a reply Keith grabbed onto Shiro’s metal hand and twisted their fingers together, leading him back to the bed, letting Shiro get in first so he could block whoever woke up once Shiro was asleep from leaving the bed.

Keith didn’t let go of Shiro’s hand even once they were laying next to each other in bed. Ever since he could remember, he’d always wanted to know what Shiro’s palm felt like against his and now he wished more than anything that the circumstances hadn’t brought them to this. As good as felt being this close to his friend, Keith would give it up faster than a heartbeat if it meant Shiro didn’t have to suffer like this. 

Rolling over on his side to face the other man, he finally brought his free hand up and this time he did touch Shiro’s cheek. He brushed a thumb over the features he could barely make out in the dark. “Go to sleep, Takashi. I’ll be right here.” He’d always be right there, even if Shiro wasn’t always  _Shiro_.

 

**takashipanthershiro:**

In the middle of Shiro’s sleep cycle he awoke.  The split persona had planned to escaped, only to find this other self has someone within his bed.  Mouthing foul language at this turn of events, he wondered who this was.  

The eyes of the Galra influenced persona leaned into Keith, and wondered if he should shove him out of bed.  He sniffed at the human, taking in the scent of Galra - even if it was mutated.  Taken aback, he blinked at the Blade of Marmora resting within reach of them.  

Kuro bared his fangs.  Within his right part of his form, here were track marks through his veins.  The cybernetic arm had made quintessence, and gave Kuro power to take over Shiro.

Glaring with hatred of the half breed in sharing his bed, Kuro reached upwards to choke Keith.  Using his bare hand to feel the other’s throat constrict.  Biting his bottom lip in sheer pleasure of doing it too.  Kuro’s expression sheer madness, hoping Keith would wake up to see it was Shiro doing this to him.

_“Wake up little BASTARD!  I want you to see it’s not him, choking the shit out of you!”_


	3. Chapter 3

**sheithfromvoltron:**

Keith had fallen asleep. He didn’t mean to, he’d meant to stay awake and wait; he wanted to be ready. But Shiro was so warm and his even breath was the sweetest of lullabies dragging his eyes closed despite his protests.

His sleeping form made a soft noise at the initial grip to his throat, but then it was too tight and the dream that had been brought on by Shiro’s presence next to him quickly turned dark and featured cold yellow eyes. The voice that invaded the now nightmare was just as damaging as the fingers around his neck.

 _Shiro!_  Keith’s first thought when his eyes finally flew open meeting a gaze sharp as any knife.  _Not Shiro_ , he reminded himself trying to twist loose of the other’s grip. He didn’t know what to do, his fingers curled as if to grab a blade that wasn’t there. Glancing over he saw at on the night stand and cursed himself for being stupid enough to leave it even that far away.

But even if he had it, he couldn’t really use it. This wasn’t Shiro’s mind right now, but it was his body and eventually he’d be back and would feel any damage Keith inflicted upon this other consciousness.

“—kashi,” he choked out, wasting a few of the precious seconds that he could hold out against this other’s grip. Keith’s hands reached for Shiro’s throat, but only brushed it as he fought for breath, instead his fingers slid up to the face he was so familiar with but felt so foreign baring this cruel expression. His vision was blurring and his lungs burned, panic taking over making him kick his legs out —which thankfully unlike Shiro’s were not trapped under a blanket— as he held onto the man’s face.

His knee connected with the soft area and oh he’d feel bad if he wasn’t on the verge of being killed by his best friend. Taking advantage of that, Keith’s hands dropped, clawing at the fingers around his throat. And once they were lose, he shoved the arm away trying to twist it and get Shiro on his back. Keeping hold of the flesh hand, he moved with Shiro’s body, sitting on his chest with a knee on his galra arm, a hand now twisted in his hair, and the other holding the offending arm at an awkward angle above his head.

“Who‘re’ou?” his voice a painful croak as he glared down at the not-Shiro.

 

**takashipanthershiro:**

It apparently was clear that Shiro knew of Kuro now, and had set Keith upon him.  Kuro instantly felt like he held control of the matter at hand, and couldn’t help but think he was gong to kill Shiro’s right hand man.  Wild insane eyes looking at Keith, daring to touch his person, but then that hand sliding over his face.  It all made him feel uneasy.  Kuro wrestled with Keith there, feeling him get the larger man entangled in the blanket.  

Then felt his balls get kneed, he fell forwards and gasped for air, curling up until Keith managed to pin him.  A hard sharp pain made his veins stick outwards on his neck as he grimace.

Glaring with those harsh golden glowing eyes, the persona the Galra implanted staring back at the half human.  Heart pounding at the feeling of Keith daring to pin him there.  Trying to still jerk away from his touch, Kuro angered by him being able to find out about him too.  

“Get off me!”

Letting out a yelp when Keith yanked his head upwards and back, the Galra arm too cramped to engage in combat.  His face turned away for a bit, then Keith jerked line of vision back upon him.  Kuro could see why Shiro was love struck over this handsome paladin.

“Kuro.”

 

**sheithfromvoltron:**

Despite the eyes and the sharper voice, it was hard  _not_  to see Shiro as Keith tried to keep the man underneath him controlled. “Quit!” he hissed, pulling the platinum handful of hair a little harder. “I don’t want—Kuro! Just stop!  _Please._ ” 

Annoyed at how easily the new name slipped from his mouth, he released the invader’s hair to grab at his jaw, leaning closer to glare into eyes he never knew he could hate. “What did you do to Shiro?“

Keith held his stare, refusing to give in to this… this  _thing_. He hated it… him? whatever, he didn’t care, he just knew that he hated Kuro. He hated the grin he’d woken to and the fingers that had been around his neck, he hated those gold eyes and that stupid face that mimicked Shiro’s. “Why.are.you. _here_?” he demanded, already fed up with dealing with this  _Kuro._

 

**takashipanthershiro:**

Kuro struggled, his face strained, hearing that command.  Sendak used to bark orders at him, he swore he bow to no Galra again.  This has been a chance to steal one of the ships and slip away.

“I didn’t do shit to Shiro, … you need to talk to Sendak!  Oh wait, I fucked that up for you…. HAHHAHHHAH.  Shiro only thought he was the one slamming his fish on the airlock.”

Why was he here?

“Are you shitting me??  I go where Shiro goes!  How the hell do you think he got away?!  If it wasn’t for me, your boy friend be DEAD!”  Kuro felt the struggle in his head, he knew somewhere Shiro appeared upset he attacked Keith. 

“I don’t want another GALRA TOUCHING ME!”  It brought too many memories back, the more frantic that fragile mind was, the more the split persona would fight to save them both.  “Shiro made me, but… the Galra….  broke our minds.”

 

**sheithfromvoltron:**

Keith could have sworn Kuro’s eyes flickered back to normal for a moment. He barely heard the answers Kuro gave, his own mind busy short-circuiting; grabbing at Kuro’s words trying to make sense of everything. It was too much.

“The Galra? We haven’t even seen any galra for days. There’s no… oh.” His grip loosened and his face fell when he finally understood. “You mean  _me.._.”

This was  _his_  fault.  _He_  was the reason Shiro was losing his mind to someone else. “I would never hurt Shiro. Or you! Please, you have to know that.” Keith felt like he couldn’t talk fast enough, he couldn’t lose Shiro. “I.. You’re… He’s my friend, I would never do anything like… like what  _they_  did!”

But suddenly even defending himself didn’t matter because Kuro had struck a nerve. “Shiro’s not broken. He’s not!” He sounded childish, but he refused to let anyone talk about Shiro like that, even if it was technically Shiro saying it.  _Especially_  then.

Forgetting the situation, or perhaps just ignoring it, Keith released Kuro’s arm to put another hand on the face glaring at him, disregarding Kuro to try and talk to Shiro. “You’re not broken, okay? You’re not. I swear you’re not, I know you. Don’t listen to him, listen to me.You are  _not_  broken, Takashi.”

 

**takashipanthershiro:**

Kuro flinched, gritting his teeth, waiting for Keith to try something.  When it didn’t come, he stared confused at the other’s lips moving.  The red paladin after all was gripping in a hard holding grip.  His head remained fixated to that face correcting him, then feeling release of his arm back to him.  

The quintessence strong within his veins from the galra made arm, but not so much so he would be forever lost to it.  He breathed a bit easier, rubbing the soreness of his arm, still a contemplation what to do here.  Steal a ship and run away, or trust these people?  Were they any better than the Galra?

Kuro felt the sting of those words, _not broken_ …..  Damn well close to it.  

Shiro thought of how to be brave in a small area of his mind, then it took life as another person.  That was where Kuro been born.  “I have to live here, no matter what I choose for us… Shiro will only come running back to all of  _you_.”

For once, the persona surrendered to the only Galra that would ever matter to Shiro.  Kuro rolled his head forwards, got upon his knees and let the floor touch his forehead in a Japanese gesture of surrendering.  He waited there, until Keith showed him mercy and didn’t kill him.  He would not beg for his life, however if Keith drew the blade against him.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**sheithfromvoltron:**

Keith watched Kuro move Shiro’s body to the floor and bow against it. He recognized the gesture. The word ‘kowtow’ came to mind from somewhere deep in his memory, but he pushed it aside to slide down on the floor next to the other man.

Keith drug his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. “Sh—Kuro, you don’t have to do that. I told you I wouldn’t hurt you.” He drew in a breath, thinking about how he couldn’t promise that from the rest of team Voltron. The image of Allura and the sting of the way she’d treated him when he was found out as galra was still too fresh in his mind and he swore he’d lose it if anyone ever looked at Shiro like that.

“I won’t even tell the rest of the team about you, just…” Keith didn’t know exactly where he was going with this, but he kept talking anyway, staring at the slope of Shiro’s back to avoid seeing those eyes that seemed to hate him.  _Just tell me why you tried to kill me,_  but he couldn’t voice that thought aloud. “…just let Shiro sleep, okay? He needs it. You  _both_  do.”

 

**takashipanthershiro:**

Kuro’s golden eyes ever slowly peered upwards from the ground uncertain.  Keith’s words betraying his honorable moment of surrendering.  He eased upwards a bit, allowing the other to talk to him one on one about his matter.

The split persona watching and listening clearer now that he was calm and not crazed.  

“When Shiro is worn down to reserve energy, I appear.  That is how they made me, I am supposed to steal him and flight or fight thereafter, no reasoning, just survive.  In the arena it made sense for me to be there, here not as much.  Maybe they hoped Shiro would not connect with me again after tampering with his mind, but I do still.  I am the one that took out the tracker, here.”

Shiro’s hand came upwards, pulling an ear backward and showing a slit where Kuro had removed something.  “In some ways, I am still him, just more edgy…  His dark side if you will.   Yin to Yang I guess.  This is the most I ever talked through Shiro.”

 

**sheithfromvoltron:**

“You don’t have to steal him. There is no reason to fight or flee. Not right now.” Keith let himself uncurl a little bit, sliding his legs down into a crisscrossed position rather than bent up and pulled into a shield. “Right now it’s just me and you. You and me, like always. Even if you’re not exactly Shiro, that’s okay. I trust him. So I trust you.”

Keith’s voice trailed off, seeing the small, barely healed injury. “Kuro,” he said the name simply to say it, whether out of comfort for himself or the man next to him he didn’t know. His finger’s lifted and reached out of their own will and touched next to the slit. “Thank you for doing that. I didn’t even think to look for a tracker.”  _Stupid._

He let his hand drift down, following the line of Shiro’s shoulder and touching his wrist, but not grabbing hold at the risk of setting off those fight or flight instincts. “Come on, let’s go back to bed. We can talk more when you’re both rested.” He offered an encouraging smile as he stood and crawled back on the bed, patting the spot next to him. “And no more choking.”  _Or at least worn me if you’re going to,_  Keith thought to himself an nearly winked.  _God, he’d been spending too much time with Lance._  

 

**takashipanthershiro:**

Kuro watching the other closely.  He didn’t seem to think Keith had it in him to let the culprit have Shiro’s body regardless of the event.  

He relaxed there, taking in Keith inspecting at him like that.  Not everyone knew of the bugs, “It’s not your fault?  Bugs are Galra tactics in keeping track of us when Shiro engages his arm.  Sometimes, Shiro’s emotions blur the exact cords….”

Feeling the touch seem vaguely familiar, had he let Keith touch them when he hadn’t known it before?  Perhaps when both of them were sleeping off the trip to Earth within the desert shack.

Kuro sheepishly peered at Keith getting upon the bed and offering them to go back to sleep.  Slowly getting upwards in a trusting manner, he approached the bed less apprehensive than he had been at escaping.  “You won’t tell the others?  I know, I shouldn’t have, ….. probably done that…”  Repulsed by his first motive against Keith, he sighed trying this the right way.  “For what it’s worth,….you are ….too adorable to kill.”  Surrendering to the red paladin for the night.  He would allow him this talk within the morning.

 

**sheithfromvoltron:**

“You’re right, you shouldn’t have, but it’s okay.” Keith worked at untwisting the blankets as he waited for the man to join him. “Shiro knows I could never hurt him and since you’re a part of him, you must know that too. You could have taken advantage of that, but you didn’t. So, no, I don’t plan on telling anyone.”

Once Kuro was on his feet and close enough to touch, Keith heard the sigh. A hand paused its work with the blanket to reach out and link their fingers to lead the other into the spot next to him. But he only made it to the first task of joining their hands before the words that followed the sigh finally registered.

Keith bristled at first.  _Adorable? He was_ not _adorable._  But then his stomach continued to swirl as he replayed the sentence, taming his annoyance into an odd sort of nervousness. “Well, I’m glad you think so,” his voice came out a lot less confident than he’d been hoping for, but he pretended not to notice and resumed his earlier mission of guiding Kuro into the bed to lay by his side.

He curled up, content to once again be on his friend’s right as he kept a firm hold on the warm metal of his fingers and closed his eyes. “I’ll rest better knowing you’re not going to try and off me in my sleep.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

**takashipanthershiro:**

Kuro laid downwards, having to trust this new ally he nearly killed.  He would have to release Shiro and rest in their scheme to flee.  Closing his golden eyes, he laid still and retired to the nether depths of Shiro’s mind.  

There were fewer nightmares that night, Shiro wasn’t fighting himself at last.

The sleep cycle ended, with Shiro waking up, but jerking upwards in startled realization something had happen last night.  Several things were out of place.  The black paladin gasping for air, when he saw Keith there next to him, but a deep bruising about his neck.  

Had the other killed him??  “K-Keith! Please be alright…  Keith!”

Shiro shaking the resting partner there.  “Are you, _…okay_?”  

Shiro relaxing a bit when he saw Keith was indeed only sleeping, and not choked to death.  “D-Did I do this to you??”  Shiro knew the door would be locked after the pact he made with Keith to keep the other persona in check.

 

**sheithfromvoltron:**

There was no hesitance when Keith woke this time; his eyes snapping open, fingers clawing at the hand that dared to touch him, Kuro’s name half formed on his lips.

But it wasn’t Kuro and if it hadn’t been for the fact that he woke up next to Shiro Keith would have sworn it was all a dream.

“Hmm?” A little confused by the question, Keith followed Shiro’s line of sight, touching his fingers to his neck.  _Oh_. “Ye—” his voice was hoarse and cut off by a fit of coughs, that had him pressing against his throat and pushing his hand against Shiro’s chest to let him know he didn’t need help. ( _And God what a chest it was_ , Keith would have been thinking, had he not been in the middle of relearning how to breathe.)

“Yeah,” he croaked, trying again. “ ‘s okay. We talk- _talked_. Won’t happen ‘gain.” Pushing up from Shiro’s bed and shivering at the cold of the castleship’s standard metal floor, Keith slowly padded towards the door, still trying to recall every detail of the night’s events. “Couple minutes in healin’pod ‘nd ‘m good as new, Kur—Shiro.”

 

**takashipanthershiro:**

Shiro calmed a bit at the touch to his chest.  _It was okay._  But, the other had tried something drastic.  He felt out of the loop a bit, but didn’t press Keith for info.  Blinking those normal deep grey eyes at the half stated name. 

Kur?  Did he mean Kuro instead?  It meant black within Japanese.  

Well that didn’t sound promising. “Is that  _his_  name?  Kuro?”  Shiro felt the word leave his mouth bitterly, he felt a bit of jealously that this other persona had talked to Keith.  What about??  

_Calm your tits, Shiro._

Shiro got a confused look upon his face, the disembodied voice sounded within his ear, but no one was within the room with them.  It now felt like having a twin, but they were trapped within.

Settling backwards against the bed’s wall nook, his face troubled.

 

**sheithfromvoltron:**

“Mhmm,” Keith confirmed, pushing on his throat again to keep from coughing. “Gimme sec… ’s fine. We’ll talk when ’m back… jus’ stay ‘ere.” He gave Shiro the firmest look he could muster before pressing his hand on the sensor and typing in the lock sequence he’d watched Shiro use last night, thankful that they’d decided in the first days to give each other basic access to the their two rooms.

He moved quietly through the halls, hoping that it was still early enough that none of the other paladin’s were up. However, he ended up nearly knocking into Lance as he tried to tiptoe around the one floor grate that always creaked when it was stepped on.

“Mullet, hey! You didn’t come back last night, Pidge and Hunk were a little worried. You weren’t in your room or on the training deck… Were you with Shiro?

“What? No!” A sly grin slipped over Lance’s features and Keith wanted to smack it off him.

“You were, I’ve gotta tell—Holy quiznak! What happened to your neck?”

“ Nothing!” Keith’s voice cracked from the strain as he slapped Lance’s hand away and pushed past him. Thankfully, he made it to the pod bay without further incident and was able to quickly adjust the settings for a quick fix of his bruised skin.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**takashipanthershiro:**

Shiro stirred a bit, he seemed confused how to deal with the programming being an actual person within his psyche.  Had he been broken so badly, he now had another persona?  He looked at his Galra tech hand curling it into a fist.

_What you gonna knock yourself out?_

The sarcastic voice made him somehow angered.

Shoving upwards from bed, he ran to his mirror to take in features. He wondered what changed when Kuro took him over?

_Stay here!  Keith said to stay here!_

“Ugh, W-why can I hear you now!  Before you were quiet!”

_You didn’t ask me anything before?_

“SMART ASS!”  Shiro yelling at the mirror.

A dark laughter filled his head, it sounded like an insane version of himself, “I must be going insane…”

_Well, I am?_

Shiro shocked, he looked upwards at the mirror, “Y-You are? Are you Kuro?!”

_Yes, to both.  Hello Shiro, we finally meet._

“Oh, no…no, this isn’t…  Happening!?“

_YES IT’S WE ARE HAPPENING, NOW!!_

Shiro clutched his head, having a panic attack.  His chest tightening and his breathing hardly able to steady, it was rapid.  

_Mmmm, what a rush, when you do that…  Don’t pass out though, unless you want me to talk some more with Keith. Hehehheh_

Those dark grey eyes popped open wide.

 

**sheithfromvoltron:**

Just over ten minutes after he left, Keith checked himself in the mirror to confirm the bruises were gone and then paced quickly down the hall. His steps were a little wobbly and his head a little dizzy from the effects of the chamber, but he was sure it’d wear off by the time he got back to Shiro’s room.

Keith paused outside the door, debating on knocking, when he heard Shiro talking. A small flare of something bitter twisted in his gut and he had to take a deep breath before he could listen in to hear who Shiro was talking to. But the only voice was Shiro’s.

And that realization shoved away the bitter feeling with a stab over nervousness and more confusion. He didn’t think Shiro and Kuro could communicate. But maybe that was just Kuro being as ass.

Before he could think better of it, Keith pressed his hand to the scanner and was glad when the metal door slid open without needing a second unlocking procedure.

“Shiro?” he was hesitant as he stepped in. “Shiro!” trying to get his attention when the first thing he saw was Shiro staring at himself in the mirror.

Keith drew in a dry breath stepping closer until he was just out of arms reach of the man, his friend. “…Kuro? What’s going on? Did something happen?”

 

**takashipanthershiro:**

Shiro stared empty at the mirror, nothing was there save himself and now there was Keith entering the room.  He pulled away that stunned eye lock upon his own reflection.  “I think I finally gone insane.”  

Sometimes PTSD was that bad, and it took a toll upon the person that suffered from it.  Apparently, Shiro was having some sort of mental break down.

Still he tried to bury Kuro within him deep, but he was so talkative and annoying.

_Hey!  You can’t ditch me anymore!_

His pupils and iris were bleached to a golden state, only the white still remained.  it was clear Shiro was not handling being two people very well.  “Keith…?  What’s happening to me? It was, just a person I made up in the arena, h-he isn’t real!?  He’s not supposed to be real!”  He felt guilty he almost killed Keith even.

_Whoa, Whoa…  But, I didn’t!_

 

**sheithfromvoltron:**

_No_ , Keith set his jaw determined to set his friend straight on this topic. “Takashi Shirogane, you are  _not_  insane.” He touched Shiro’s shoulder, sliding between him and the mirror to place his other hand on the far shoulder. “You’re not. And you aren’t broken either.”

Finally piecing together what Kuro had meant when he’d said Shiro ‘made’ him, Keith swallowed the burn of bile trying to crawl up his throat. Kuro was just mean to be a character; a way for Shiro to distance himself from the awful things he had to do just to survive.

“Shiro, hey, look at me,” Keith demanded by shifting his hands up and softly cupping the man’s jaw. “It’s okay.  _You’re_ okay. He’s not going to hurt you. I talked to him.” Keith’s thumbs moved in slow circles over Shiro’s cheekbones trying to provide any sort of comfort he could, but not realizing how this was crossing lines that even they had kept in tact in their friendship.

“You made him to help you, right? That’s still what he’s here for. What’s good for you, is good for him. He said he took your tracker out,” Keith slid a finger behind Shiro’s ear towards the little cut Kuro had showed him. “He said he helped you escape. I believe him, but right now let’s focus on you.”

“Breathe with me, Shiro. If you’re stressed that’s just going to make him fight harder for control. Hey, look at me. Focus on me, not him.” His words were mostly meant for Shiro, but Keith hoped Kuro was hearing them as well, maybe then he’d shut up and Shiro could feel a bit more in control of himself.

 

**takashipanthershiro:**

Shiro’s widen eyes still on his friend’s face, trying to take in what all that happen last night.  Kuro had confirmed he was made by Shiro.  Kuro had taken steps to free them even.  Cutting a tracker out of them.  Bending over, the rattled man settled his hyperventilating breathing, coughing at the air finally rushing to his lungs.

He could breath again.  Kuro hummed in his head at Keith there before them, he still found him cute.  Enjoying the view, he remained quiet for Shiro.

“The Galra tweaked him though….  That wasn’t supposed to be possible.  How did they find Kuro within my head?”

_It wasn’t not hard Shiro, they just scanned our brain and, …. well, they pried me out of my safe spot within your head.  It hurt both of us._

Shiro‘s eyes fluxed that golden color then back to dark grey.  He wondered if he were even still human?  He eased a hand upon either of Keith’s hands.  “I was afraid I never make it back to you, so I made Kuro up to deal with the pain and suffering.”

_I didn’t have a name then, unless the Champion counts…_

“I have a split persona now.” Shiro staring there stunned at Keith.  Kuro was quieter, no longer trying to get him upset _._   “Keith…”  Worried about how this looked to his friend.

 

**sheithfromvoltron:**

_Me?_  Keith almost questioned, but thought better of it. Shiro obviously meant ‘you’ as a generalization for his life and friends and everything back home which Keith was just a small part of. He was not special or more significant than anyone else Shiro knew before Kerberos.

We fly giant, magic, metal cats and having someone break into his thoughts is surprising? Keith hated himself for wanting to laugh, but stayed quiet as he thought through his answer.

“You’ve always been good at compartmentalizing your thoughts.” Keith moved one hand, skimming along the shorter hairs on Shiro’s head, “Emergency medical information here,” he lightly tapped a spot above Shiro’s ear with a finger, then slid his finger back about an inch and tapped again. “Flight protocol here. Astronomy here. Martial arts. Hand to hand combat. Japanese written language. Spoken language right here next to it. Etiquette. Strategy. History. Conspiracy theories. Lame rom-com movies. Lyrics to every song by Linkin Park…”

Keith listed of a few more subjects before he switched to using his left hand to repeat the process. “And over here you keep your locked drawers. Your friends. Your family. The Kerberos mission. And I’m guessing somewhere over here was a spot for Kuro. All they had to do was figure out your filing system. It’s not your fault what they did to you.” Keith tried to offer an encouraging smile, “They’d do the same with me except my minds a lot darker and my containers don’t like to stay closed.”

Keith fingers had come to a halt on the back if Shiro’s neck and were tracing circles over the stubbly hairs he felt there. “I know, Takashi. And we’re going to figure this out together, just like always.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> find us on tumblr at [@takashipanthershiro](https://takashipanthershiro.tumblr.com) and [@sheithfromvoltron](https://sheithfromvoltron.tumblr.com).
> 
> i'm also on twitter at [@theeShadyLady](https://twitter.com/theeshadylady).
> 
> [ **sheithfromvoltron ko-fi** ](http://ko-fi.com/N4N86EW4)


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